Confit of Wild Rabbit with a Sweet Onion and Wood Blewit Ragout
Confit of Wild Rabbit with a Sweet Onion and Wood Blewit Ragout is a modern British recipe (based on a French original) for a confit of dry cured wild in goose fat that's served with a wood blewit ragout in white wine and chicken stock. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Confit of Wild Rabbit with a Sweet Onion and Wood Blewit Ragout.
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This recipe is based on a French country dish of dry cured wild rabbit cooked in goose fat. Here the rabbit is served with a sweet onion and wood blewit ragout. In springtime this dish can be prepared with morels and it autumn you could use a blend of boletes (including ceps). The recipe also works well with confit of duck.
Ingredients:
For the Dry Cure:
175g flaked sea salt
30g Demerara sugar
3 juniper berries, crushed
a few sprigs of fresh thyme
a few bay leaves, roughly torn
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 rabbit, cut into thighs and saddle
For the Confit:
2 x 320g jars of goose fat
For the Ragout:
50g butter
6 shallots, peeled and quartered
1 garlic clove, crushed
225g wood blewits, chopped
125ml white wine
250ml chicken stock (or mushroom stock)
1 tbsp caster sugar
Method:
Mix together all the ingredients for the dry cure in a large, shallow, dish. Add the rabbit pieces and stir to coat in the cure. Cover and set aside in the refrigerator to cure for 24 hours.
When ready to cook the rabbit, pre-heat your oven to 150C. Wash the rabbit pieces to remove any surface salt then pat dry with kitchen paper.
Arrange the rabbit pieces in a casserole dish then pour over enough goose fat to completely cover the meat. Cover the dish with a lid, place in the centre of your pre-heated oven and cook for 2 hours, or until the meat is very tender and almost falling off the bone.
Remove from the oven and set aside to cool then remove the rabbit from the dish and reserve the goose fat.
Transfer the rabbit pieces to an earthenware pot, cover with the reserved goose fat and refrigerate until required.
Melt the butter in a frying pan and use to fry the shallots for 5–6 minutes, until just beginning to colour. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute then add the wood blewits and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, for 3–5 minutes. At this point pour in the wine, stock and sugar. Bring to a boil and cook for about 5 minutes, or until reduced.
To serve, remove the rabbit pieces from the goose fat and wipe off any excess fat. Fry the rabbit for about 5 minutes, or until heated through.
Arrange on a warmed serving dish, spoon over the ragout and bring to the table.
